Earlier, Ola Electric had notified that it would prioritize deliveries With a focus on delivering the Pro variant first, Ola Electric has decided to push the manufacturing of Ola S1 scooters to late 2022
Last year, Ola Electric faced issues with the start of the production of S1 and S1 Pro scooters. This, in turn, caused a massive delay in the commencement of deliveries of the e-scooters to the customers. Apart from that, there are several other issues with the scooter itself that are preventing Ola to go into production as well. Ola created a massive hype about the e-scooter in the market. However, it has not been able to deliver on the promise of giving the bikes to its potential customers after receiving so many bookings. Last month, only 111 units of the Ola electric scooters were sold, and last week, in a mail sent to people who have booked the S1 version, Ola said the deliveries would commence only in late-2022. Now, however, the company has announced that those who booked the S1 would be get a free upgrade to S1 Pro for free!
Also read: Four Things Bhavish Aggarwal Can Do To Make OLA Electric The Best!
Why are Ola S1 buying being given free upgrade to S1 Pro?
As per a mail sent to the customers, a ‘vast majority’ of buyers have chosen the S1 Pro over the S1 and hence, the manufacturer earlier decided it would prioritise the production of the costlier variant over the base model. However, people who have booked the S1 were given a chance to switch to S1 Pro on paying extra (Rs 30,000 costlier). This move left many disappointed and people who booked the S1 even felt a bit cheated. Now, in order to keep its customers happy, the company has decided to offer a free upgrade to S1 Pro. That said, these scooters will come with some of their features locked. Still, one can pay extra and unlock these features at a later stage.
It is important to mention that the S1 and S1 Pro have common features. However, by paying extra, one has access to a higher range and top speed along with additional features like voice assistant, Hill hold control and cruise control. However, it should be noted that the S1 Pro also has a bigger battery that leads to a higher range and top speed.
Production Issues at Ola Electric
According to TeamBHP forum, the current production capacity of Ola scooters is 150 per day. To cover over 90,000 bookings, it will take a long time. If it starts ramping up the production in January to deliver on the promise of start handing over the e-scooters to the customers in February, they require to produce around 1,900 per day. This is way too long of a leap from the current situation. Not to mention, there were a ton of issues with the bike itself which were pointed out when it was given to the media personnel to test drive. The software was malfunctioning, the throttle was not responding while driving at times. etc. All in all, the bike was not even production-ready just a month ago. What could Ola do so rapidly to fix all these issues and start delivering, we will have to wait and see?
Also read: Watch Ola Electric Scooter Performing Stunts Like a PRO!
Specs
The Ola S1 has a battery pack of 2.98 kWh while the S1 Pro has a 3.97 kWh. Both these are good for 11.4 hp and 58 Nm of peak power and torque respectively. The 0-60 km/h is achieved in 7 secs for the S1 and in 5 secs for the S1 Pro. The regular home charger takes around 4 hours 48 mins to charge the battery completely in S1 and 6 hours 30 mins for the S1 Pro. The range of the S1 is a healthy 121 km and the S1 Pro is an impressive 181 km. The price of the S1 is Rs 99,999 and the S1 Pro is Rs 1,29,999. The sale is exclusively online and the scooters will be delivered to you at your doorstep. After the Fame – II subsidies, the prices of both these products will be reduced significantly. Check the subsidies in your state to avail all the discounts.
